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Words You Might Encouter Concerning Prostate Cancer (4)
EDEMA: swelling or accumulation of fluid in some part of the body
EJACULATORY DUCTS: The tubular passages through which semen reaches the prostatic urethra during orgasm
ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION: See IMPOTENCE EMCYT: the brand or trade name of estramustine phosphate in the USA
ENDOGENOUS: inherent naturally to the organism
ERYTHROPOEITIN (EPO): a protein normally produced by the kidneys and stimulates the bone marrow to produce more red blood cells
ESTRAMUSTINE PHOSPHATE: a chemotherapeutic agent used in the treatment of some patients with late stage prostate cancer
ESTROGEN: a female hormone; certain estrogens (e.g.,
diethylstilbestrol) are used by some physicians in treatment of
prostate cancer
EULEXIN: the brand or trade name of flutamide in the USA
EXPERIMENTAL: an unproven (or even untested) technique or procedure; note that certain experimental treatments are commonly used in the management of prostate cancer
EXTERNAL RADIATION THERAPY (also EXTERNAL BEAM THERAPY): a form of radiation therapy in which the radiation is delivered by a machine pointed at the area to be radiated
FALSE NEGATIVE: an erroneous negative tests result; for example, an
imaging test that fails to show the presence of a cancer tumor later
found by biopsy to be present in the patient is said to have returned
a false negative result
FALSE POSITIVE: a positive test result mistakenly identifying a state
or condition that does not in fact exist
FINASTERIDE: an inhibitor of the enzyme (5 alpha-reductase) that
stimulates the conversion of testosterone to DHT; used to treat BPH
FLARE REACTION: a temporary increase in tumor growth and symptoms caused by LHRH agonists; can be mild to dangerous; may be prevented by taking an antiandrogen (Casodex) several days before starting LHRH agonist (Lupron or Zoladex)
FLOW CYTOMETRY: a measurement method that determines the fraction of cells that are diploid, tetraploid, aneuploid, etc.
FLUTAMIDE: an antiandrogen used in the palliative hormonal treatment
of advanced prostate cancer and sometimes in the adjuvant and
neoadjuvant hormonal treatment of earlier stages of prostate cancer;
normal dosage is 2 capsules every 8 hours (not just at meals).
FREE PSA: see PSA-II
FREQUENCY: the need to urinate often
FROZEN SECTION: a technique in which removed tissue is frozen, cut
into thin slices, and stained for microscopic examination; a
pathologist can rapidly complete a frozen section analysis, and for
this reason, it is commonly used during surgery to quickly provide the
surgeon with vital information such as a preliminary pathologic
opinion of the presence or absence of prostate cancer (usually in the
pelvic lymph nodes)
GASTROINTESTINAL: related to the digestive system and/or the intestines
GENITAL SYSTEM: the biological system which, in males, includes the
testicles, the vas deferens, the prostate, and the penis
GENITOURINARY SYSTEM: the combined genital and urinary systems; also known as the genitourinary tract
GLAND: a structure or organ which produces a substance which is used
in another part of the body
GLEASON: name of physician who developed the Gleason grading system commonly used to grade prostate cancer
GLEASON SCORE: a widely used method for classifying the cellular
differentiation of cancerous tissues; the less the cancerous cells
appear like normal cells, the more malignant the cancer; two numbers,
each from 1-5, are assigned successively to the two most predominant
patterns of differentiation present in the examined tissue sample and
are added together to produce the Gleason score; high numbers indicate
poor differentiation and therefore cancer
GNRH - genadotropin-releasing hormone, see LHRH ANALOGS
GOSERELIN ACETATE: a luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analog used in the palliative hormonal treatment of advanced prostate cancer and sometimes in the adjuvant and neoadjuvant hormonal treatment of earlier stages of prostate cancer
GRADE: a means of describing the potential degree of severity of a
cancer based on the appearance of cancer cells under a microscope; see
also Gleason Score
GYNECOMASTIA: enlargement or tenderness of the male breasts or
nipples; a possible side effect of hormonal therapy
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Words You Might Encouter Concerning Prostate Cancer (4)
